Written Answers Tuesday 8 June 2010

Scottish Executive

Cancer

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the incidence of newly diagnosed cancers of the respiratory system has been in (a) Scotland, (b) NHS Forth Valley and (c) NHS Lanarkshire in each year since 2004, also broken down by data zone.

Nicola Sturgeon: Data on the incidence for cancer of the trachea, bronchus and lung is available for Scotland and NHS board by calendar year at: 

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=i_cancer_lung_mesothelioma.xls&pContentDispositionType=inline.

  The most recent calendar year for which complete numbers of registrations are available is 2007. It is not possible to provide information broken down by data zone as this may compromise patient confidentiality.

  Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the incidence of newly diagnosed breast cancer has been in (a) Scotland, (b) NHS Forth Valley and (b) NHS Lanarkshire in each year since 2004, also broken down by data zone.

Nicola Sturgeon: Data on the incidence of breast cancer is available for Scotland and NHS board by calendar year at: 

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=i_cancer_breast.xls&pContentDispositionType=inline.

  The most recent calendar year for which complete numbers of registrations are available is 2007. It is not possible to provide information broken down by data zone as this may compromise patient confidentiality.

  Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the incidence of newly diagnosed leukaemia has been in (a) Scotland, (a) NHS Forth Valley and (c) NHS Lanarkshire in each year since 2004, also broken down by data zone.

Nicola Sturgeon: Data on the incidence of leukaemias are available for Scotland and NHS Board by calendar year at: 

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=i_cancer_leukaemias.xls&pContentDispositionType=inline.

  The most recent calendar year for which complete numbers of registrations are available is 2007. It is not possible to provide information broken down by data zone as this may compromise patient confidentiality.

  Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the incidence of newly diagnosed mesothelioma has been in (a) Scotland, (b) NHS Forth Valley and (c) NHS Lanarkshire in each year since 2004, also broken down by data zone.

Nicola Sturgeon: Data on the incidence of mesothelioma are available for Scotland and NHS board by calendar year at: 

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=i_cancer_lung_mesothelioma.xls&pContentDispositionType=inline (by selecting mesothelioma from the drop down menu).

  The most recent calendar year for which complete numbers of registrations are available is 2007. It is not possible to provide information broken down by data zone as this may compromise patient confidentiality.

  Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the incidence of newly diagnosed cancers of the digestive system has been in (a) Scotland, (b) NHS Forth Valley and (c) NHS Lanarkshire each year since 2004, also broken down by data zone.

Nicola Sturgeon: Data on the incidence of oesophageal, stomach and colorectal cancer are all available for Scotland and NHS board by calendar year at: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/183.html (under the Cancer Statistics section).

  The most recent calendar year for which complete numbers of registrations are available is 2007. It is not possible to provide information broken down by data zone as this may compromise patient confidentiality.

  Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the incidence of newly diagnosed testicular cancer has been in (a) Scotland, (b) NHS Forth Valley and (c) NHS Lanarkshire in each year since 2004, also broken down by data zone.

Nicola Sturgeon: Data on the incidence of testicular cancer are available for Scotland and NHS board by calendar year at: 

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=i_cancer_male_genital_organs.xls&pContentDispositionType=inline (by selecting testis from the drop down menu).

  The most recent calendar year for which complete numbers of registrations are available is 2007. It is not possible to provide information broken down by data zone as this may compromise patient confidentiality.

Community Care

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review the system of direct payments to people assessed as needing community care services.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is currently consulting on proposals for a Self-directed Support Bill. The proposals include some changes to existing statute that provides for direct payments for people assessed as needing community care services. The changes would extend eligibility for direct payments to some groups that are presently excluded, and remove some current limitations on the use of direct payments. The consultation also includes proposals to introduce the term self-directed support to statute, with direct payments remaining as the main mechanism to allow individuals to purchase their own support.

  The consultation, which closes on 23 June 2010, is available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/03/23102019/0.

Curriculum for Excellence

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Association of Directors of Education since the announcement of the 10-point plan for the Curriculum for Excellence regarding the development and implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence and when the details of these discussions will be made available.

Michael Russell: The Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) is represented on the Curriculum for Excellence Management Board. The last meeting of the board was on 22 April 2010 at which ADES agreed the advice to the Cabinet Secretary that there should be no delay to the timetable of the CfE Programme. ADES is also represented on the Qualifications Governing Group, the Recognising Achievement, Profiling and Reporting sub-group of the management board and the National Assessment Resource content group. Each of these groups have met since the 10-point plan announcement. 

  Scottish Government officials also discussed with ADES representatives the summarised versions of Building the Curriculum 3 and 5 documents. Their publication on 25 May was endorsed by ADES. 

  Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what correspondence and discussions there have been between it and East Lothian Council regarding the council’s recent proposals for school reform and when details of these exchanges will be made available.

Michael Russell: There have been several informal discussions with representatives of East Lothian Council regarding their proposals for school reform. We do not routinely make available the details of private discussions with stakeholders.

Diabetes

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent estimate is of the cost to the NHS budget of treating diabetes and its complications, also expressed as a percentage.

Shona Robison: Accurate estimates for the overall cost of treating people with diabetes are difficult to obtain, due to the complex nature of the condition and the co-morbidities and complications associated with it.

  NHS Quality Improvement Scotland’s National Overview Report on Diabetes Standards, published in 2008, suggests that the overall cost of treating the disease may account for about 10% of the total NHSScotland budget.

  The Scottish Diabetes Research Network Epidemiology Group has commissioned researchers at the University of Glasgow to provide estimates of the inpatient and prescription cost of diabetes in Scotland.

  Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in NHS Tayside are classified as having (a) type 1 and (b) type 2 diabetes and what the estimated number is of undiagnosed cases.

Shona Robison: The figures for type 1 and type 2 diabetes prevalence in NHS Tayside are summarised in the following table:

  Table 1a. Diabetes Prevalence in NHS Tayside

  

Type 1
Type 2
Other typesof diabetes
Not Recorded/Not Known
Total


Number
%
Number
%
 
 
 


1,771
9.8%
16,283
89.7%
42
61
18,157



  Source: Scottish Diabetes Survey 2009. http://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/Publications.aspx.

  The estimated numbers of people with undiagnosed diabetes are shown in the following table:

  Table 1b. Estimated1 Numbers of Undiagnosed Diabetes in NHS Tayside

  

PBS Estimate 2008 (A)
Scottish Diabetes Survey 2008 (B)
Undiagnosed Persons (A - B)


19,769
17,311
2,458



  Source: Scottish Public Health Observatory. 

  Note: 1. Estimated numbers of undiagnosed diabetes are produced using the Public Health Observatories/Brent/ScHARR (PBS) statistical model.

Finance

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the reduction in expenditure in 2011-12 if the reduction in the budget proposed by the UK Government for devolved Scottish expenditure in 2010-11 is deferred until 2011-12.

John Swinney: The additional reduction in the Scottish Budget for 2010-11 proposed by the Chancellor in his announcement of 24 May 2010 amounts to £332.5 million. The UK Government’s plans for future public spending will be confirmed in the Comprehensive Spending Review and Scottish ministers are in dialogue with UK counterparts about the prospects for the spending review and the implications of deferring the reduction they have announced until 2011-12.

  John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local councillors have been represented on Scottish Government working groups since 2006, broken down by (a) date, (b) title, (c) political affiliation and (d) working group.

John Swinney: The information requested is not held centrally.

  Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has received in Barnett consequentials since 1 April 2007, broken down by individual amount.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has received the following DEL Barnett consequentials since 1 April 2007:

  

 
2008-09 £ million
2009-10 £ million
2010-11 £ million


Budget 2008
5.7
3.0
4.5


PBR 2008
5.4
5.7
-128.4


Budget 2009
-
79.0
-367.0


PBR 2009
-
-
23.1


Budget 2010
-
-
76.1

Freedom of Information

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 National Security Certificate for G8 information promulgated in 2005 was revoked.

Kenny MacAskill: Following consultation with interested parties, including the Scottish Information Commissioner, a Declaration of Withdrawal of Certificate by The Scottish Ministers was issued on 6 April 2010.

Health

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans NHS Highland has to reduce medical services being offered to patients via the Dunbar Hospital in Thurso.

Nicola Sturgeon: We understand from NHS Highland that services at Dunbar Hospital are currently being examined as part of a wider review of services throughout West Caithness.

  The NHS board have been clear that their objective is to ensure that services in the area meet the needs of local people; that they remain of the highest quality, and that they continue to offer best value for taxpayers’ investment. NHS Highland have assured me that they will continue to fully engage with all local stakeholders as their plans develop; in line with national policy, guidance and frameworks.

  Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it would use in agreeing to any plans by NHS Highland to reduce medical services being delivered via a local hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: Scottish ministers involvement in the NHS service change process is determined by whether the proposals are considered to be major. National Guidance is available to NHS boards in CEL 4(2010): Informing, Engaging and Consulting People in Developing Health Care Services and can be accessed at the following link http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2010_04.pdf.

Income

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to improve the provision of data on low pay across Scotland.

John Swinney: The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is the official source for earnings information. The survey is run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and can provide information about the number of low paid jobs as measured by those earning below the national minimum wage. 

  The Scottish Government (SG) works closely with ONS to continuously improve the ASHE survey ensuring that it provides high quality data and meets the needs of Scottish users. The SG along with other government departments negotiated with ONS to restore the 1 per cent sample of employees in the ASHE survey from 2009, after two years in which the sample size was reduced by 20 per cent. Work is also being progressed by the ASHE user group, of which the SG is a member, to review the ASHE methodology and consider whether the ASHE sample can be redesigned in a way that it is more efficient and makes best use of the resources and information available to ONS.

  Estimates of the number of Scottish jobs paid below the national minimum wage from 2004 to 2009 are available from http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/jobs_below.xls.

  Information on the distribution of earnings across the Scottish local authorities can be found in the latest ASHE 2009 results (table 7 and table 8):

  http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=15313.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fiscal fines were issued to offenders released on licence in each of the last three years, broken down by sheriffdom.

Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.

Local Government Finance

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the implications of a rise in VAT from 17.5% to 20% would be for each Scottish local authority.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has made no estimation of the cost to local authorities as a result of any increase in VAT. Section 33 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 provides all local authorities with the power to recover VAT incurred from supplies of goods and services received so any additional cost to Scotland’s local authorities would be at the margins.

Planning

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a formal requirement for developers to carry out a pre-application consultation with communities when a national development is consented through a regulatory system that does not require planning permission and, if not, what action it takes to ensure communities do not miss out on consultation in such circumstances.

John Swinney: The statutory requirements for pre-application consultation with communities as set out in planning legislation do not apply across alternative consent regimes. The main alternative consent regimes are listed below with an outline of their public consultation requirements. The exact consent procedures for each national development have not yet been determined, but, depending on the specific project, is likely to involve one or more of the procedures listed (and/or a planning application). Where consent for a project was pursued through an Act of Parliament, the procedures would be a matter for Parliament.

  Electricity consent applications - In accordance with The Electricity (Applications for Consent) Regulations 1990, all applications for consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act must have notices published for two successive weeks in one or more local newspapers circulating in the locality of the proposed development, in the Edinburgh Gazette, and in one or more national newspapers. These notices will contain information enabling members of the public to make representations on the proposal. Pre-application consultation with communities by the prospective applicant is increasingly encouraged as good practice.

  Transport and Works Orders – Where a project sought consent under the Transport and Works (Scotland) Act 2007, applicants are required to demonstrate on making a full application that they have carried out publicity and consultation on their proposals. Ministers can then take due account of any representations received. Proposals have to be advertised in a local newspaper and 42 days allowed for representations to be made to ministers.

  Harbours Orders – The Harbours Act 1964 requires, a public notice of the application to be placed in the local press and 42 days allowed for objection/representation to be made to ministers.

  The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 - Nothing under this act would authorise a national development by a developer but it is possible that roads to be constructed by the Scottish Ministers could be designated a national development. Scottish ministers are required to publish a notice of their proposal to make an Order to construct trunk roads under the act in at least one local newspaper, a national newspaper and the Edinburgh Gazette and 42 days are allowed for objections to be made. If there are objections to the Orders there may be a Public Local Inquiry. In the case of Orders which would constitute a national development, Section 143A of the act provides that those orders may not simply be made but are to be laid before Parliament and are subject to affirmative parliamentary procedure. Section 143A also applies to schemes under section 7 of the act which constitutes a national development.

Police

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police support staff are employed in each police force.

Kenny MacAskill: The numbers of police support staff employed in each force at 31 March 2010 are shown in the following table.

  

Force
Whole-Time Equivalent


Central Scotland Police
357


Dumfries and Galloway constabulary
257


Fife Constabulary
469


Grampian Police
733


Lothian and Borders Police
1,281


Northern Constabulary
352


Strathclyde Police
2,524


Tayside Police
543



  George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated annual cost is of the administration of the Scottish Policing Board.

Kenny MacAskill: There have been no additional costs associated with the administration of the Scottish Policing Board. The secretariat function is provided from existing resources in the Scottish Government.

  George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the relationship is between the Scottish Policing Board and the Scottish Police Services Authority and what their respective areas of responsibility are.

Kenny MacAskill: There is no formal relationship between the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) and the Scottish Policing Board.

  The SPSA’s statutory responsibilities are set out in the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006. The role and remit of the Scottish Policing Board are outlined in the Foundation Document which was agreed at the first meeting on 23 November 2009, and is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 49746).

Prescriptions

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to increase efficiency savings identified in NHS Lanarkshire’s prescription budget.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Lanarkshire implemented its most recent prescribing action in February 2010 with the explicit aim of generating £2.2 million of annual savings on prescribing costs within financial year 2010-11. This was informed by the recent work of the West of Scotland prescribing efficiencies group where approximately 25 different actions were identified that could lead to improved prescribing efficiency and cost savings. The plan is subject to regular review and future attention will focus on the reduction of medicines waste and the improved effectiveness of repeat prescribing and dispensing systems – activity that is common to all NHS boards.

Procurement

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultancy contracts have been signed off at director general and cabinet secretary level since the introduction of guidelines on consultancy by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth in December 2008, broken down by (a) date, (b) consultant, (c) amount authorised and length and remit of each contract and (d) director general or cabinet secretary.

John Swinney: We are examining the available information and will write to the member as soon as possible. A copy will also be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 51001).

Public Appointments

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local councillors have been appointed to quangos since 2006, broken down by (a) title, (b) date, (c) political affiliation and (d) local authority.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Information relating to board membership details of the public bodies which are regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland is detailed in the Directory of Public Appointments on the Scottish Government’s public appointments website http://www.appointed-for-scotland.org/About-public-bodies/NDPB-Directory/. The directory does not hold details of any past appointments.

Public Bodies

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many non-departmental public bodies and government agencies there were in May (a) 2007 and (b) 2010.

John Swinney: In 2007 the Scottish Government redefined the public body landscape as part of its Simplification Programme and in October 2007 it published a comprehensive baseline list of 199 national devolved public bodies. Progress towards achieving the government’s target to reduce the number of public bodies by 25% is being measured against the baseline list. The Simplification Programme Tracker provides details of the changes across the public body landscape and is available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/public-bodies/simplification-programme/SimplificationTracker.

  Historical information on national devolved public bodies is also available on the Public Bodies pages of the Scottish Government website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/public-bodies/pubs/Information.

  A list of current national devolved public bodies is available in the National Public Bodies Directory at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/public-bodies/about/Bodies.

Scottish Futures Trust

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Scottish Futures Trust has had regarding funding the City Square Project in Aberdeen.

John Swinney: The Scottish Futures Trust has met with Aberdeen City Council to discuss the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF), its key principles and how it could be used in the Aberdeen area.

  Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Scottish Enterprise regarding possible involvement of the Scottish Futures Trust in funding the City Square Project in Aberdeen.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has had no discussions with Scottish Enterprise regarding the possible involvement of the Scottish Futures Trust in funding of the City Square Project in Aberdeen.

  George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made or will make of the effect on employment of reduced expenditure by the UK Government on reserved matters in Scotland.

John Swinney: The UK Government has not announced how the reductions in public spending it intends to implement in 2010-11 and beyond will affect expenditure on reserved public services in Scotland. However, the previous UK Government forecast, in the March 2010 Budget, that government spending would make a negative contribution to UK GDP growth of 0.75% in both 2011 and 2012.

  Updated details about the new UK Government’s public spending plans are expected in the Emergency Budget to be held on 22 June 2010 and the Comprehensive Spending Review scheduled for sometime in the autumn.

Skills Development Scotland

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent in 2009-10 by Skills Development Scotland on IT purchases; what proportion of this expenditure was on replacing old equipment; what the nature and age is of the equipment replaced, and what the reasons were for its replacement.

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been budgeted to be spent in 2010-11 by Skills Development Scotland on IT purchases; what proportion of this expenditure will be on replacing old equipment; what the nature and age is of the equipment to be replaced, and the reasons for its replacement.

Keith Brown: The procurement of IT equipment is an operational matter for Skills Development Scotland. I have asked the chief executive to write to you with this information.

  Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the management structure of Skills Development Scotland is and what policies are in place to ensure that decisions by Skills Development Scotland are made at the lowest possible level.

Keith Brown: The Skills Development Scotland (SDS) management structure is an operational matter for SDS. I have asked the chief executive to write to you with this information.

  Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what changes there have been in staffing numbers since Skills Development Scotland was formed, broken down by (a) reception staff, (b) administrative staff, (c) advisers, (d) management and (e) other.

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the transfer of staff from Highlands and Islands Enterprise to Skills Development Scotland has resulted in problems with the handling of staff tax matters and, if so, what the causes are of any problems that have occurred.

Keith Brown: Staffing is an operational matter for Skills Development Scotland. I have asked the chief executive to write to you with this information.

  Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the purchasing policy of Skills Development Scotland is and what scope this gives to allow peripheral offices to use local suppliers for small purchases.

Keith Brown: Procurement is an operational matter for Skills Development Scotland. I have asked the chief executive to write to you with this information.

Sport

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that those provisions of the Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Act 2007 that come into force on 1 June 2010 will have unintentional consequences for several sports, including fencing.

Kenny MacAskill: No.

  Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Act 2007 will have a detrimental effect on the sport of fencing due to the requirement to have a trader’s licence for each premises in each local authority area.

Kenny MacAskill: No. The sport of fencing can continue under the requirements of the Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Act 2007 that was passed under the previous administration.

  Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are plans to amend the Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Act 2007 before 30 June 2010 to ensure that equipment vendors are permitted to sell equipment at fencing tournaments and fencing coaches are able to sell equipment to club members without being required to hold a licence.

Kenny MacAskill: No. The knife dealers licensing scheme came into force on 1 June 2010 with exceptions to the licensing requirements in respect of fencing. We will monitor the operation of the act and consider if further action is necessary.

  The act only requires a licence to be in place if a person is "carrying on a business". A coach operating, not as a business, does not therefore require a licence. In addition, the Knife Dealers (Exceptions) Order 2009 provides an exception for fencing coaches in order for them to lend or hire equipment to a pupil. Anybody, operating as a business and not covered by this exception would be able to apply for a temporary licence from the relevant licensing authority.

Voluntary Sector

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers the major barriers are in mapping the social enterprise sector.

John Swinney: As there is no legal definition or regulation for social enterprise, there is no single source of data to support mapping of the sector. We fund the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition as a strategic partner of Scottish Government to provide advice and information about the sector. The coalition are also part of the Third Sector Research Forum whose focus is to consider improvements to information gathering.

  Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that a lack of up-to-date statistics on the social enterprise sector, including number of organisations, employees and turnover, is a barrier to measuring how effective the Enterprising Third Sector Action Plan is in developing the sector.

John Swinney: As part of the national performance framework the Scottish Government annually publishes the indicator on social economy turnover, this includes the social enterprise sector.

  This information is available on the Scotland Performs website: 

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/scotPerforms/indicators/socialEconomy.

  We are currently working with third sector stakeholders, including social enterprise representatives on developing more detailed statistics for the sector. This will include data on social enterprise.